William Cumming (1917-2010)
“I paint people in combinations that allow viewers to erect stories around people-situations,…(people, things, animals, space) are resolved into simple shapes; that is all woven together in a web of color and shape. I think what they see is something that relates to their own lives, which really are no different from mine. I think that is important.” — William Cumming
The artwork of William Cumming walks the boundary between realism and abstraction. Often reflecting on his daily life, he captured people and animals in a moment in time with loose brush strokes of vibrant color, defining forms in light and shadow, coaxing the viewer into a conversation of invigorating life.
Jacob Lawrence (1917 – 2000)
“If at times my artworks do not express the conventionally beautiful, there is always an effort to express the universal beauty of man’s continuous struggle to lift his social position and add dimension to his spiritual being.” — Jacob Lawrence
Jacob Lawrence was one of the greatest figurative painters of the 20th Century. He was an impassioned observer and storyteller whose art documented both the African American experience as well as the larger human struggle for freedom and social justice.